An entertainment watchdog is urging Netflix to pull the controversial series "13 Reasons Why" due to its "potentially harmful content," which reportedly includes scenes of a thwarted school shooting.
The second season of the show, which focuses on teen suicide, began streaming on Netflix on May 18 and one episode about the aftermath of a teenage girl's death reportedly depicts a thwarted school shooting.
In a statement released, the Parents Television Council (PTC) warned parents and schools about the content of the show, while calling on Netflix to stop streaming the show altogether.
The watchdog group noted that one of the most "horrifying" scenes of the show featured a "group of boys sodomizing a teenage boy with a mop handle."
"Netflix has delivered a ticking time bomb to teens and children who watch '13 Reasons Why,'" PTC President Tim Winter said, according to a news release from the group.
"The content and thematic elements of the second season are even worse than we expected. We would have liked to have 13 reasons for hope and redemption following the graphic suicide of the lead female teen character, but rather than providing a path forward, the season only provides cause for despondency," Winter continued.
PTC Program Director Melissa Henson cautioned that those who are planning to watch the show while feeling depressed will "never walk away from the series feeling any better," while those who did not feel that way to begin with could end up "hopeless and depressed."
The statement was released just days after the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, where 10 people attending an early morning art class were killed.
Another conservative group had called on Netflix to pull the series earlier this month, before season 2 began streaming on the platform.
The American Family Association (AFA) had launched a petition that was signed by over 61,000 people, calling on Netflix to abandon streaming of the second season.
The petition featured a six-minute video about a 14-year-old girl named Anna Bright, who reportedly took her own life after binge-watching the show.
The first season of the series drew strong criticism for depicting suicide, rape and mental health problems.
Psychology professionals have also warned about the potential adverse effects of the show. Paul Thomlinson, a psychologist in Springfield, urged parents last year not to let teenagers watch the show without having discussions.
Thomlinson went on to say that the depiction of suicide in the show was not an accurate representation of what happens in real life. "It clearly glamorizes what happens after a suicide," he told the Springfield News Leader at the time.
